ChrisAudio

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Just purchased a set of used SPM Reference speaker cable. I was totally amazed by the overall impact speaker cable could have on my system...Clarity, Transparent, Air, and Weight on Bass...vaguely present in my system before switch to SPM. I would now recommend people to look at their speaker cables before changing their amp, CD,...for upgrade.

Similar Products Used:
Monster Sigma 2, LFD Grainfree, Audioquest Pikes

TerryB

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $5000.00

Summary:
Can only reiterate what's been written already - unless you can afford Valhalla, you don't really need to look any further for a speaker cable. A huge leap forward from Red Dawn. Like all the best hi-fi componenets, it just reproduces what it's given without colouration, loss of information or any other negative trait.

Strengths:
Clarity, speed, three-dimensionality of sound, flat so it can be hidden under the carpet!

Weaknesses:
Price i suppose. And over-engineered presentation boxes!!

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from 18/12/2003

Summary:
How shell i start? Eye opening i think, My kit is Tag Mclaren 2 x 125 monoblocks,Cdm transport & 192kh digital pre amp. With B&W 805 signatures. I believe that this kit is underrated. So i have set myself a quest to get the best out of it with setting it up correctly & using the best ancillaries i can afford. Taking a lot of advice from Russ Andrews,ie all my mains leads are Kimber with their super purifier & numerous silencers around the house. I have also recently upgraded to a Ks2020 digital & Ks1030 interconnects.That left my speaker cable. I was using Electrofluidics Monolith20/20 Which i have had for a while, so as i changed the interconnects one at a time things were getting much better, But still retaining a slight coloration of using all copper cable.Which i must say i quite like. But I felt the sound was being held back by the last link. Ideally i would have loved to use Kimbers top silver cable, but that is just so expensive its not in the equation. But while looking for some Ks3035, silver plated copper, priced when new at similar money to SPM. I found an add for Spm!! Worth a try i thought especially at such good value! Was i right to do so? Oh yes! I am gob smacked to say the least!! Having read so many reviews af kit over the years using words like holographic, sound stage, timber, Speed. I have become a bit nonchalant about the sounds they are trying to portray.Not any more. I have a dedicated listening room, with acoustic treating, Base traps etc. So i am not a total novis, but obviously have a lot to learn! Never before have i bean so amazed with the results of changing just one component.It's as if my room has just got 50% bigger, the sound stage sits on my shoulders & beyond the walls! Imagery is immaculate, the sense of breath on voices is uncanny & as for detail, Sounds i was totally fermilure with have changed beyond recognition! My wife asked me if it was worth £1100 I replied, put it this way, I can see why people pay £2900 for it! So That's my opinion.

Strengths:
Realisum, detail

Weaknesses:
na. You get what you pay for.

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from used

Summary:
This cable has THE one thing that all other high-end cables lack - speed! After changing back from i.e. MIT or Monster it feels like the music gets a turbo boost. This cables is equally detailed and has the same wonderful drive from top to bottom. The bass is lean, but deep and VERY fast. The midrange is crystal clear and involving. The treble is more detailed than on any other cable i''ve ever heard (except the Valhalla of course!) Love this cable! Highly recommended!

Strengths:
Speed, dynamics, pace, drive, detail, punch, soundstage, timbre

Weaknesses:
brightness in the wrong system, revealing of poor resolution components earlier in the signal path, a bit pricy if you buy it new.

Similar Products Used:
Nordost Valhalla, MIT 770 bi-wire, MIT 750 bi-wire and a lots of much cheaper cables.

Price Paid:  $5000.00

Summary:
when combined with my system it gave me the "sound" that I was looking for. Some time ago my idea of speaker cable was lamp wire in some cases braided together to reach from my Dynaco 120 to my large Advents circa 1973 .I get a kick when people refer to audio cabling as snake oil, I can certainly hear the improvements even as you move up the food chain from the same manufacturers. The proof in the pudding is in the taste trying cables from lending libraries ie. THE CABLE CO. has given me a sense of what cables can and can't do for a system. My only advice is dont scrimp on the wires I have never regretted spending a little more to get what I want, than settling and spending the extra money it costs in the long run to trade up.

Strengths:
clean crisp very detailed

Weaknesses:
n/a

Similar Products Used:
MIT, Custom house , Nordost Red Dawn